Botox for Weight Loss?
If the idea of injecting Botox into your stomach for the sake of shedding a few pounds sounds crazy, just think of how crazy it is in general that we inject one of the most poisonous substances into our faces to smooth away lines and wrinkles. Hey, if it works for beauty and bladders, it’s worth a shot in the battle of the bulge.... right?
While Botox was recently given the FDA’s go-ahead for treating urinary incontinence, it turns out that injections to the stomach won’t help curb your appetite, despite earlier suggestions that they would slow down the digestive system, make you feel fuller, and thereby help to reduce weight. That’s according to a recent study published in the February issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
In a double-blind, randomized trial, 60 obese patients either received Botox or placebo injections. After 24 weeks of treatment, researchers found that the Botox put the digestive system into slow motion, but did not promote weight loss.
Researcher Mark Topazian at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., issued this concluding statement:
"On the basis of our findings, I would not recommend gastric Botox injections to people who want to lose weight.There are some risks with this treatment and we found that there was no benefit in terms of body weight loss. Unless future studies show different results I'd advise patients to seek other means of achieving weight loss."
Okay, so gut instinct was right in this case: Botox won't help you lose the weight. For real solutions to cleaning up your contours, it may be time to finally step into those sneakers and follow up with tried and true solutions from body shaping and liposuction experts. Check out these before and after pictures to see just what they can do for you!
Originally Published Feb 7, 2013
